Pillow Fights, Diamond Moons, and Words Nearly Said
by Clare Hope
Summary: A night under a blanket fort turns into a pillow fight which turns into a conversation about the universe and then about themselves. (Excessively fluffy with a side dish of feels.)


"Hi, Ianto...I've literally been gone fifteen minutes, what is it?" Jack said over the phone, slightly irritated.

"When are you getting home?" answered Ianto.

Jack paused. "Dunno, soon? Why?"

"No reason."

"Uh-huh," Jack said skeptically. "No, really, why?"

"No reason," Ianto repeated. "Bye." He hung up, and smiled. It had been a hard week, and he had decided that tonight needed to be a bit of a change from that. Scattered around the living room in Ianto's flat, on the floor and on top of the couch, lay just about every pillow and blanket Ianto owned. He hadn't done this in ages, but he had enough time to figure it out. Probably. It might collapse instantly, but damn it, he wanted to build a blanket fort and he was going to build a blanket fort.

Ten minutes later…

"Yes!" Ianto shouted triumphantly. He'd had to carry in a couple of dining chairs and be very creative with knots, but he had a blanket fort that covered the entire room from the back of the couch to behind the television stand, and the floor was carpeted with a veritable nest of pillows and a couple quilts. He couldn't help feeling rather proud of his accomplishment. Stop being such a child, he told himself. Then he decided that, he just built a blanket fort. He could act like a child a little bit.

He crawled through the small opening between two blankets, observing with satisfaction that all of the hanging blankets touched the ground, with no gaps. It was just dark enough, and there were plenty of pillows left to just lie on. Ianto smiled when he thought of how Jack might react when he walked in, and decided to just stay inside the fort until the captain walked through the door.

He didn't have to wait for too long. The door to the flat opened, accompanied by Jack calling, "Hey, Ianto, what's-what the heck?!"

Ianto laughed, enjoying the confusion in Jack's voice. He poked his head out of the fort. "Come in?" he invited. "There's room."

Jack seemed lost for words. "Ummm."

Ianto scrambled out from the fort. He stood up and rushed over to Jack, taking the captain's coat. "What?" he asked teasingly.

Jack gestured to the living room. "That?"

"Don't you want to come in? Maybe watch a movie?"

A slow smile spread across Jack's face, broadening into a full grin. "Absolutely," he said. "Hold on, I've got to go change."

"I'll be waiting."

Jack hurried off. Ianto, already wearing comfortable pants and a t-shirt, crawled back into the fort. He flopped down on some pillows and waited for Jack to return. "Permission to enter?" the captain asked jokingly.

"Permission already granted, sir," Ianto returned.

Joining Ianto, Jack asked, "Not that I'm complaining, but why?"

"I just thought we needed a non-Torchwood night. Also I felt a bit childish. Rhi and I used to make these, when we were kids. I suppose nostalgia's the word."

"Well, I love it," Jack said honestly. He looked at Ianto through the dim light halfway blocked by blankets, meeting the young Welshman's eyes.

"Good," said Ianto. "Because it isn't often that we have a night off like this and even less often that we get to spend it like this."

Jack inched closer, closing the distance between him and Ianto and let his lips brush against the younger man's as he whispered, "I wish that it didn't have to be like that."

Ianto closed his eyes. "Hmmm..." he sighed. "Me too." Jack tugged Ianto into his arms.

Jack's breath ruffled the hair on the back of Ianto's head. "Did you say something about a movie?"

"If you want, but I mean, this is nice. We could just do this."

"We could," agreed Jack. "Do you want to?"

"Do you want to?"

"No, do you want to?"

"Jack, I made the blanket fort. I arranged the "date" or whatever this is. You get to choose, movie or cuddling or both?"

Jack hesitated. A tiny laugh entered his voice and he repeated, "What do you want to do?"

Exasperated, Ianto snatched up a pillow and rolled over, smacking Jack in the chest with it. "Jack!"

"Hey!" Jack protested.

"Choose," Ianto ordered, trying to sound threatening while keeping a tremble of laughter hidden.

Looking mock-affronted, Jack grabbed a pillow for himself, hitting Ianto with it gently. "I'm giving you the choice."

Ianto threw himself on top of Jack, holding the pillow over his face threateningly. "No, I'm giving _you_ the choice!"

Jack, pretending to be terrified, dropped his pillow so he could fling his hands up over his face. "You choose!" he yelped.

 _Thump!_ "You!"

"Hey!" squeaked Jack.

Ianto laughed. The laughter quickly turned to a cry of surprise when Jack retaliated by flipping over and pinning Ianto to the ground. "Jack!"

"Got you!"

"Get off me, you..." Ianto pushed at Jack in vain.

"You what?" prodded Jack, poking Ianto's stomach lightly.

"Just...you!" Ianto laughed. He managed to shove Jack off for long enough to grab the pillow he had dropped a moment before and throw it at the captain. Jack threw it right back. "We're acting like children," Ianto pointed out.

Jack tossed another pillow. "Shh, go with it."

Ianto did, hitting Jack with two pillows at once. "Take that!"

Jack jumped backwards so that his back touched the couch. He gathered up several small pillows to throw at Ianto rapid-fire. "Ha!"

Ianto knew how to wage a pillow fight. He could aim very well, and soon he had Jack actually scrambling up onto the couch trying to get some cover from the soft missiles. He flattened himself underneath the "ceiling" blanket that stretched from the top of the couch to the other side of the room and dipped down in the center, lying on his stomach as Ianto bombarded him.

By the time all of the pillows were piled on top of and around Jack, Ianto realized he had made a tactical error. His realization was confirmed when Jack suddenly rolled over and off the couch, flinging every one of the pillows towards Ianto, who yelped and tried to duck out of the way.

But there was no "out of the way," because Jack had also made a tactical error. As he fell off the couch, which would normally have been perfectly safe due to the fact that the seat was only two feet off the ground, his arm caught on the ceiling blanket and pulled it down with him. Ianto found himself suddenly trapped under a pile of pillows and a taut blanket pressed down on top of him.

"Ahh! Jack!" Ianto reprimanded, fighting to push away the confining cover.

"Sorry!" came the muffled response. "I can't find where the outside is, I'm kinda trapped."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Right. Even though I have absolutely no sympathy for you, I'll help you out. That's _if_ I can get out myself." Suddenly aware of the uncomfortable lack of oxygen underneath the collapsed fort, Ianto wriggled forward until he found the edge of the blanket. He took an appreciative breath before turning back and surveying his living room. The giant patchwork quilt roof of the fort was lying on the ground, with various lumps underneath that were Jack and the pillows. Ianto took the edge of the quilt and pulled it away from Jack, who lay on his side.

"Sorry I broke the fort," Jack said sheepishly.

Ianto pretended to glare down at him, but couldn't keep a straight face and almost instantly broke into laughter. Grabbing the nearest pillow, he tossed it at Jack weakly and then sat down on the floor next to him. "Apology accepted!"

"Really, because I'm getting mixed signals," Jack teased, throwing the pillow back.

"Are we really starting again?" Ianto sighed.

Jack's eyes sparkled. "You were the one who restarted it."

"I-okay, you're right." Ianto winked playfully, causing Jack to widen his eyes a little bit more. "In which case," he added slowly... _Smack!_ "Rematch!"

Jack jumped to his feet, snatching the pillow out of Ianto's hands. "Agreed!" he exclaimed, and whacked the pillow into Ianto's chest.

"You're in for it now, Jack!" Ianto laughed.

"Try me-oof!" Ianto had leapt to his feet with a pillow in each hand and hit Jack on both sides simultaneously. The Welshman smirked for a second, then turned and fled as a look of playful revenge stole into Jack's eyes.

Ianto ran into the bedroom and hid quickly behind the door, waiting for Jack to step in and turn away from the door looking confused. Then, smiling, he darted out from behind the door to throw his arms around Jack, pinning the captain's arms to his side. "Got you!" he said happily.

Jack started laughing, dropping his pillow. "You have won," he said lightheartedly. "How could I not give the game up to you?" Ianto smiled into the back of Jack's shoulder, squeezing tighter. Jack brought his hands up to cover Ianto's where they were clasped over his chest. "Especially when you're acting like this, which happens once in a diamond moon," he murmured, instinctively beginning to rock side to side slowly.

"In a what?" Ianto asked, muffled by Jack's shirt.

"In a diamond moon. They happen sometimes, on a planet I went to once."

"No, but what are they?"

Jack paused for thought, still swaying back and forth. "The moons are made of a type of mineral that when light hits it in just the right way, it turns crystal clear. It looks like a huge diamond hanging in the sky, and happens only once every few centuries. I prefer that expression to 'once in a blue moon.'"

"Oh...And why is the way I'm acting so rare?"

The captain caressed the back of Ianto's hand. "Because Torchwood isn't interfering with your thoughts right now. You're just...you."

"Jack…" Ianto lessened his hold and made Jack turn around so he could better speak with him. The younger man's arms were draped around Jack's waist loosely. Tilting his face up a tiny bit to make his lips level with the slightly taller man's, he whispered, "I'm always just me." He pursed his lips, leaning forward, and Jack kissed him. Ianto pulled him closer, his hands moving up Jack's back to settle near his shoulderblades. Jack's hands slowly smoothed their way up and down Ianto's sides, and Ianto sighed softly.

"Stay you," Jack mumbled, pulling back for a second. "Always stay you. I don't care if you change, but don't ever not be you."

Ianto tucked his head down underneath Jack's chin, closing his eyes. He felt Jack's lips press to the top of his head gently. "I will," he promised.

"Don't ever let someone change you into something you're not."

"I won't."

"Ianto, look at me." Ianto opened his eyes. Jack put his hand on Ianto's cheek, tilting his face up. "That includes me. Don't let me change you into something you're not."

"Don't be ridiculous, Jack," Ianto told him. "You are not changing me."

"Are you sure?"

"Jack, you only met me after...at least not when she was...you've never known me when I was i…" Ianto stopped talking abruptly and put his head back on Jack's chest like it had been before.

Jack exhaled sharply. "When you were what?"

"Do I have to say it?"

"Not if you don't want to."

Ianto clutched Jack tighter. "You know anyways."

"Yeah. I do, Ianto Jones." Jack hesitated for a long time. "Me too," he said finally.

They held very still, as if they were afraid that the moment was so fragile it could be shattered by a single breath, as if the words nearly said would mean nothing if they didn't preserve this instant for as long as they possibly could. Somehow, even without saying the words out loud, something had changed between them, but neither could be said to have really changed the other.

But then, that's love.

* * *

 _Hi guys, thanks for reading! This started super fluffy and turned angsty because apparently I literally cannot write any fan fiction without turning it sad. But I hope you enjoyed it anyway! I put this story on tumblr already (my url is clarehope128 hint wink). Tell me what you thought?!_

 _Celebrating America's correct decision that we finally made! Woohoo rainbows everywhere! Have a gay rest of your day and g'night!_

 _~Clare_


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